Coop Project: Maken the Plunge & Getting Chickens

[7 Biddies]

Maybe they're Greek chickens. I wonder if they like the grape leaves stuffed?

 

[Ashdoes]

When we had ducks, when I was a kid, we lived out in the country. There were coyotes and raccoons that tried to get into the box coop almost every night (I even saw a Great Horned Owl sitting on the coop one cold morning), and when the sun was starting to set our ducks couldn't wait to get into the coop at night....Could be that they just have no fear and don't know how good they have it.

(Silly Ducks).

Well after reading your whole thread and seeing your coop and run, I would say they feel perfectly safe in their home.
We just moved into a "community" with 2.5 acre lots and there are two Hawks that just sit on our back fence posts. I've never been worried about my two Bostons till yesterday, when the Hawks sat for two hours staring at my little guys. I'm pretty sure my, soon to be arriving chickens, will have a healthy dose of fear to keep them where I want them. The more I read the more I think I should have gotten just one male to keep my girls safe. But I'm too new at this to know if that would cause any issues with eggs being fertilized and edible.
Anyways, hope your chickies and ducks stay safe. It's too bad you have to get rid of your boy, he is just too cute.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Thank you for your comments...Post photos of your setup. I'd like to see your acreage and hear more about your flock.

Pecker has been a good little guy. He has a great personality and risks his life valiently while protecting the flock from those untrustworthy Robins and Black Birds that keep invading the backyard and plotting the demise of his girls. Such a brave little guy.

My daughter and her Fiance' are headed to the Black Hills next weekend for a short visit, I have at least another week with him before he is gone. I'll take lots of photos between now and then; he will be missed.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I finished mowing the lawn and was on the deck cooling off. I watched a pair of pullets work their way up the side of the house and towards my Grape...I knew that my Grape Vines were not growing as long and reaching as they have in years past.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I ran the sprinkler after mowing. Once the system hit the backyard circuit out came the turtles. We usually see the turtles in the early morning and the evenings. You can see them cruising the yard looking for worms and grubs in the lawn....I no longer have Sod Worms since the turtles arrived. But this year with the Pullets and Ducks, we see the turtles more often. Whenever the sprinkler comes on out they come...I put some old fruit into the garden to compost, and the pullets have scattered it everywhwere. The turtles must have found this supply of food as they went right to it.




As an educator, my students have brought me many pets over the years that they can no longer keep or no longer want. These are Box Turtles that were given to me...We recieved our first Box Turtle maybe 10 -15 years ago. The one in the foreground is a female named Crystal, she was bitten by a dog and was given to us. We nursed her back to health and she has a very distinct fondness for cherries and strawberries. Crystal is a Western Ornate Box Turtle and will follow me around the yard begging for a treat. She loves strawberries, she gobbled down a big one yesterday. She can be seen often cruising the garden. Buster is the other Box Turtle in the photo, he is a beautiful Eastern Box Turtle and we were given him late last year by a family that was moving.



Box Turtles seem to be a pet that a lot of people get at the pet stores. Usually they take these beautiful animals home and keep them in an aquarium. Box Turtles don't do well in confined captivity. In an aquarium they will spend countless hours roaming the tank, clawing at the glass and looking for a way out; they just never seem to calm down. Box Turtles love their space and need to roam and hunt. If you are thinking of getting a Box Turtle, think of keeping them in the backyard, instead of in a small cage. My turtles hybernate under the trampoline in the winter, and they roam the yard during the summer and into the early fall. We have a small colony that we have accumulated over the years....it is a lot of fun watching them forage across the yard in the evenings and early mornings.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Box Turtles are also known as Gopher Turtles and it is an apply earned name. During the summer months they will dig little lies under trees or in the mulch in the garden or along the trampoline.



The Females will set up little territories in the backyard. They will wander the yard, but they will always return to their burrow; sometimes they will dig a new burrow or a series of burrows. The males don't seem to have a territory. They wander all over the place and can be found most anywhere during the day.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Happy Father's Day


It had been a long day, but a good day. I got the lawn mowed and a lot of work around the house finished. Dang if my son's Baseball Game was canceled due to smoke from the fire. But still a great Father's Day. My Daughter slipped outside and snapped a couple photos while I was spending time with the flock.

This is the perfect way to end a great day. Enjoy.



It is so nice when they come when you call them.

 

[Ourfamilyflock]

happy Belated Fathers Day, and the doc will be happy to know that your flock is keeping your blood pressure down. Nothing more relaxing then laying in the grass and feeding the girls and 1 guy!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Pecker Leaves for South Dakota in the morning....This week just went by way to fast.

 

[aggiemae]

Kismet made a good observation about ventilation and air flow in the coop. I had planned ventilation in my design, but after reading Kismet's post in this thread, I didn't think that my planned ventilation was nearly enough for this project.

Here we are owrking on the underside of the roof. It was a very hot day so we setup the Pop-Up Tent and we laid out a set of 4 much larger vents for the coop. My Dad did the layout for the vent locations, while I came through behind and cut out the openings. These vents are in the roof, under the eves of the coop.

Your coop is great and I have really enjoyed all you photos especailly the fathers day one...but THIS is the photo that inspired me...I am going out right now to get an awning to work under